Selection and demographic history shape the molecular evolution of the gamete compatibility protein bindin in Pisaster sea stars.

ABSTRACT: Reproductive compatibility proteins have been shown to evolve rapidly under positive selection leading to reproductive isolation, despite the potential homogenizing effects of gene flow. This process has been implicated in both primary divergence among conspecific populations and reinforcement during secondary contact; however, these two selective regimes can be difficult to discriminate from each other. Here, we describe the gene that encodes the gamete compatibility protein bindin for three sea star species in the genus Pisaster. First, we compare the full-length bindin-coding sequence among all three species and analyze the evolutionary relationships between the repetitive domains of the variable second bindin exon. The comparison suggests that concerted evolution of repetitive domains

SUBMITTER: Popovic I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4063459 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature